Attorney Consultation Available Before Filing Administrative Appeals... Supporting Rights Protection for Vulnerable Groups

Central Administrative Appeals Commission Introduces "Administrative Appeal Legal Counseling Service"

Priority Support for Basic Livelihood Security Recipients and Single-Parent Families

Counseling Attorneys May Be Appointed as Public Representatives

Even before filing an administrative appeal, individuals can now receive legal counseling from qualified attorneys. This new pathway is designed to help provide remedies for the rights of socially and economically vulnerable groups that have had difficulty accessing legal support.

Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Government Complex Sejong. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

The Central Administrative Appeals Commission of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on August 18 that it will launch a new administrative appeal legal counseling service, which allows people to consult with specialized attorneys even before submitting an administrative appeal. The service will be prioritized for socially and economically disadvantaged groups, including recipients of basic livelihood security benefits, single-parent family assistance, basic pension, and disability pension.

An administrative appeal is an administrative remedy system that allows citizens whose rights and interests have been violated by unlawful or unfair administrative measures to seek redress more easily and promptly than through the courts. Until now, socially and economically vulnerable individuals—once they filed an administrative appeal—could apply for a public representative and receive legal representation without bearing the cost. However, only those who had already filed an appeal were eligible to apply for such representation, making it difficult to receive legal support during the preparatory stage of filing an appeal.

The Central Administrative Appeals Commission established this new counseling service to address such blind spots. Compared to the existing public representative system, the new service will offer broader legal counseling, but will still prioritize socially and economically vulnerable individuals. Those who wish to receive counseling can apply through the counseling application portal on the Administrative Appeals online website. The commission will review each case for counseling eligibility, and once selected as a beneficiary, the individual will receive one-on-one tailored counseling from a specialized attorney.

If the individual, after receiving counseling, decides to file an administrative appeal and applies for a public representative, the attorney who provided the initial counseling may be appointed as their public representative. In this way, the individual can benefit from continuous legal support from the counseling stage through the actual appeals process.

Cho Soyoung, Vice Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and Chairperson of the Central Administrative Appeals Commission, stated, "We hope this service will provide substantial assistance to citizens who wish to file an administrative appeal but have found it difficult to receive help from legal professionals." She added, "We will continue to identify and improve necessary systems from the public’s perspective to provide even more comprehensive rights protection services."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.